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The Kenyan passport’s global ranking has dropped from position 72 to 73 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest Henley Passport Index Report indicates that Kenya’s passport lost 13 positions on the mobility score, which measures the number of countries a holder of a particular passport can visit without a visa or get a visa on arrival.
The pandemic has seen the number of countries a holder of a Kenyan passport can visit visa-free or get a visa on arrival reduce to 61 in the period under review from 74 last year.
Further, the Kenyan passport ceased being the seventh most powerful passport in Africa in 2020 and is now ranked at position 11 in the continent.
Seychelles has the most powerful passport in Africa followed by South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Namibia, Tunisia, and Swaziland.
A holder of a Kenyan passport can travel to 29 countries without a visa and obtain a visa on arrival in 30 countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, Jamaica, and Fiji, among others.
Japan tops the list of being the most powerful passport in the world. Japanese citizens can travel visa-free or visa-on-arrival to 191 destinations around the world.
Singapore is second with access to 190 destinations followed by South Korea and Germany (189); Italy, Finland, Spain, and Luxembourg (188); Denmark, and Austria (187); Sweden, France, Portugal, Netherlands, and Ireland (186); Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, and New Zealand (185); Greece, Malta, Czech Republic, and Australia (184); Canada (183), and Hungary (181).
The 10 worst passports to hold are Afghanistan (access to 26 destinations), Iraq (28), Syria (29), Pakistan (32), Somalia and Yemen (33), Palestinian territories (37), Libya and Nepal (38), and North Korea (39).